West Florida News

There were 988 multiracial students enrolled in Charlotte County schools in the 2023-24 school year, a 0.8% increase from the 980 multiracial students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Charlotte County welcomed a total of 16,858 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, multiracial students comprised 5.9% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 24 schools in Charlotte County, Port Charlotte High School recorded the highest enrollment of multiracial students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 120 students, making up 7.2% of the school's total student body.

Gov. DeSantis has approved an education budget of over $28 billion for the 2024-25 school year. The new budget includes more than $1 billion earmarked exclusively for teacher salaries to better address the teacher shortage the state faces.

A 2024 WalletHub study ranked Florida 49th in the nation for teacher salaries when adjusted for cost of living, making it one of the lowest in the U.S.

School name	% of multiracial Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Charlotte High School	5.3%	1,976
Port Charlotte High School	7.2%	1,659
Lemon Bay High School	3.5%	1,346
Punta Gorda Middle School	4.9%	1,072
Babcock Neighborhood School	3%	966
Port Charlotte Middle School	7.8%	884
East Elementary School	4.8%	800
Neil Armstrong Elementary School	8%	784
Deep Creek Elementary School	6.3%	767
Liberty Elementary School	9.9%	694
Meadow Park Elementary School	7%	669
Sallie Jones Elementary School	8.1%	658
Myakka River Elementary School	6.7%	652
L. A. Ainger Middle School	3.9%	644
Murdock Middle School	6.5%	635
Kingsway Elementary School	7.2%	587
Peace River Elementary School	9.2%	524
The Academy	4.7%	298
Baker/Head Start	14.5%	165
Charlotte Harbor School	7.1%	140